The not so hidden cost of Education
One of the Education stories of the day was reported on National Radio this morning . School Uniforms pricing and policy is being called into question. Several news blogs and news sites are running the story.
It comes at an interesting time for me as last Sunday a friend of mine was talking about the cost of their kids school uniform as being upward of $700. I thought about this wondered if they had their numbers wrong but on the radio this morning I discover that the cost of a school skirt could be upward of $100! That total bill appears quite enormous.
Then I got thinking about the fact that school is said to be "free at the point of delivery". Hmmmm…. I think not.
With the cost of school uniform being… $700. Yearly fees being $500, stationery levy being $50 it all too soon mounting up. And I fear I am only touching the surface.
What areas of ‘voluntary contribution’ have I missed?
I consider the school ski trip and the Japanese lessons with the specialist tutor after hours or the violin practise at 3pm on a Wednesday to be areas where parents have a genuine choice as to whether they opt in or out.
But what about the rest?
I must ask around what a parent has to pay. I was wondering how much it would be for where you are? And what categories that comes under?
At college you can also add the cost of Technology fees – up to $50 for workshop costs and materials in the senior school and both schools I have worked at in NZ are now charging for printing. Our Technology and Graphics fees are an essential part of our budget without which we would not be able to do much practical work. Unfortunately just over half get paid – those who can afford or who are conscientious subsidise those who can’t afford or refuse to pay. If parents are aware of the total cost of courses up front and are given payment options maybe we would get a greater percentage of fees paid as increases in budgets rarely match increases in costs.
Interesting, I had a conversation with a friend over the weekend, she is paying 3 times more than I do for a school uniform and the schools are less than 2kilometres apart – Go figure?
i asked my mom how much my uniform use to cost and its not as exspensive as yours but it still cost a lot of money, in total it cost about £300 and thats not including the stationary, school books and extra contrbutions.
Compared to the cost of buying the rubbish that passes as regular clothing, uniforms are a better value and look smarter. Since schools are designed to educate, perhaps the appearance of education might also be considered.
Wow, and uniforms are supposed to save money? Sure they look good and “smarter” but there’s no reason for them to be that ridiculously overpriced. Education should be effective enough on its own without needing expensive costumes to support it.